Jimmy Butler is the kind of player who would do absolutely anything to win an NBA championship with the Miami Heat, but everyone has his limits, and the 34-year-old star is no exception.
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The forward said he wouldn’t give up coffee for a year to win an NBA title.
Hopefully it won’t come to that for Butler and the Heat, who fell just short of winning the championship last season when they were defeated by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals. Miami and Butler also lost the 2020 Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, which obviously had to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
The Heat famously lost out on acquiring Damian Lillard this offseason in an effort to improve their title chances. They were doubly hurt when the Portland Trail Blazers traded the All-Star to the Milwaukee Bucks, who were the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season when the Heat eliminated them from the playoffs.
In the aftermath of that trade, the Boston Celtics acquired former Bucks star Jrue Holiday to add to their previous offseason acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis. The Heat defeated the Celtics in seven games to win the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals after holding a 3-0 lead in the series.
Butler seemed to enter training camp in a good state of mind, making waves with his emo appearance and new hairstyle.
Though one NBA executive believes the Heat are “cooked” and not being honest about their status among possible title contenders, head coach Erik Spoelstra earlier said he remains confident in the roster heading into the 2023-24 season.
With Tyler Herro now being counted on to play a key role after he was not needed for a Lillard trade, and Bam Adebayo returning off a strong playoff performance, the Heat do have a good core to build around.
The key to all of it is likely to be Butler, who was fantastic in the early rounds of the playoffs before seeming to grow tired in the later rounds. Perhaps some more coffee can help the cause this season.
